New York, NY : Ecco, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers, [2021]

©2021

270 pages ; 24 cm

9780062973214 (hardcover)

0062973215 (hardcover)

Includes bibliographical references (pages 197-249) and index.

A history of swallowing -- Pie, progress, and Plymouth Rock -- Breakfast of champions -- Children of the corn -- Honey laundering -- The vanilla of society -- The ghosts of Cockaigne past -- The choices of a new generation -- Forbidden berries (or appetite for distraction) -- Attack of the killer tomatoes.

"Is Italian olive oil really Italian, or are we dipping our bread in lamp oil? Why are we masochistically drawn to foods that can hurt us, like hot peppers? Far from being a classic American dish, is apple pie actually . . . English? "As a species, we're hardwired to obsess over food," Matt Siegel explains as he sets out "to uncover the hidden side of everything we put in our mouths." Siegel also probes subjects ranging from the myths--and realities--of food as aphrodisiac, to how one of the rarest and most exotic spices in all the world (vanilla) became a synonym for uninspired sexual proclivities, to the role of food in fairy- and morality tales. He even makes a well-argued case for how ice cream helped defeat the Nazis. The Secret History of Food is a rich and satisfying exploration of the historical, cultural, scientific, sexual, and, yes, culinary subcultures of this most essential realm"--provided by publisher.

Exploring cultural, scientific, sexual, and culinary substructures, this essential read for all foodies, at turns both funny and fascinating, looks at the little-known history surrounding food.

Food habits -- History.

Food -- History.

1264409804